Today's assignment: Cast your vote

Leominster kids put democracy to work at school polls

LEOMINSTER -- Except for the missing doughnuts and coffee, the election polls at Southeast Elementary School looked normal Tuesday.

The fifth-grade social studies class is studying the three branches of government and electoral college, as well as citizenship and democracy, said teacher Nate Hanson.

So elementary schools around the city set up polling sites for the presidential election between incumbent Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, then asked three ballot questions. Results for mock elections throughout the region have been conducted through the Sentinel & Enterprise's Newspapers In Education program. Results will appear next week.

"We made up two kid-centered (questions) and one real-world question," Hanson said.

The ballot questions asked whether households should be fined for not recycling, whether school lunches should be limited to 3 grams of sugar per serving, and whether the United States should pull its military troops out of Afghanistan.

"I expected it to be more crazy, for people to be running around," said fifth-grader Ashley Hassett, 11.

Homerooms were divided into wards, City Clerk Lynn Bouchard's office sent 10 polling booths, and there were tables to check in and out.

Fifth-graders manned the tables and the ballot boxes while grades three to five voted. Grades kindergarten through two voted in their classrooms.

Fourth-grader Evan McCarthy, 9, said he opposed Question 2, which asked whether sugar should be limited to 3 grams.

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"I think 3 grams is not enough," Evan said. "I don't think we should have a lot of sugar, but the limit should be higher, like 7 or 5."

Richard Budd and Liam Hoyle, both 10, were guarding the ballot boxes.

Richard said he learned how to vote through the exercise and cast a ballot for Obama.

"I just like the whole process of watching people vote and how they do it," Richard said. "And voting myself."

Ward 2 City Councilor Wayne Nickel was among dignitaries who stopped to watch the process.

"Very proud of what Southeast has done," he said. "The teachers have done an excellent job setting up."

Teacher Sarah Gates was handing out "I voted" stickers to students.

Students learned about candidates through sources such as wiki pages.

"They are excited their vote is going to be heard by people," Gates said.

Students defeated the fine for recycling, 176 to 111; defeated the sugar question, 144 to 137; and defeated the proposal to pull troops from Afghanistan, 178 to 113.

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